Three More Weeks

In three weeks we'll be in Istanbul, Turkey! I can't believe it. I feel like we've had this trip planned forever. Oh wait, we have. As of right now I have no idea what to expect other than I know it's sure to be a great trip. I'm definitely looking forward to see Hagia Sophia, a beautiful building that began it's life as a church and then was turned into a mosque and now is a museum. Other than that, I'm at a loss. Hmm maybe it's time to actually look at a tourist guide. Bah!

One thing I will say about Josh and I, we love the unusual. We love to step away, far away, from the tourist spots and find a little gem of a shop or a restaurant on a side street. It's made for some great finds and some interesting eating. One time, when we were in Prague, we went to this pizza place that we swore was run by the Czech mafia. Everyone who walked in seemed to know each other and they all kept going into this back room. There were also some guys who sat a a table the whole time, who just looked like mafia types, who kept answering their cell phones in hushed voices. In the end, the pizza was good and the "mafia" guys loved Maya. I have to say though, we ate quickly, said our thank yous and watched our backs the rest of the night. The creep out factor was definitely high but it was fun trying to guess if they were running some kind of front business for a secret Czech mafia operation.

Then there was a time when we were in Argentona, Spain and our friend Xavi took us to the most amazing bakery. It dated back hundreds of years and I had a pastry called an angel's bell (Cabella d'Angel). It's a sinful pastry, almost the size of my head, made of a phyllo dough glazed with honey on one side and chocolate on the other. I almost passed out it was so good. Steve, our friend who was traveling with us, said he was going to come back to Spain just to get another one. I told him to take me with him.

This all amounts to me trying to say, when you travel don't be afraid to leave the comfort of the tourist trap with the English menus and cookie cutter brick-a-brack shops. Take a stroll down a quaint side street and see what you find. You just may find your own one of a kind story.